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Special Issue "Toxicity and Ecological Risks of Emerging Contaminants in the Marine Environment"

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A special issue of Toxics (ISSN 2305-6304). This special issue belongs to the section "Ecotoxicology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 3044

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Ying Wang

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Guest Editor

National Marine Environment Monitoring Center, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Dalian, China
Interests: marine ecotoxicology; zooplankton; mechanisms of toxicity; marine water quality criteria; ecological risk assessment of chemicals

Prof. Dr. Guanghui Ding

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Guest Editor

College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian, China
Interests: aquatic toxicity; environmental behaviors and fate of oil spill and the emerging pollutants in the estuary and adjacent coastal environment; fabrication of functional carbon nanotubes/polymer nanocomposites and their applications in water and wastewater treatment

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Emerging contaminants (ECs), including microplastics/nanoplastics, endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), perfluoroalkyl compounds, personal care products and pharmaceuticals (PCPPs), perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) and organophosphorus flame retardants (OPFRs), are a group of existing pollutants in the global ocean that can be dangerous to the marine environment, and consequently to human health. Ecotoxicological research is crucial to support the science-based risk assessment and management of anthropogenic ECs in the face of ocean pollution. This Special Issue on “Toxicity and Ecological risks of Emerging Contaminants in the Marine Environment” will aim to highlight the latest advances in ECs-related marine ecotoxicology, biomonitoring and modelling studies that assess ecological risks. Authors are invited to submit original research papers, reviews, and short communications.

Topics related to ECs in the marine environment may include, but are not limited to, the following:

Exposure and effects on typical marine organisms at different levels of organization;
Application of omics, such as genomics, metabolomics and proteomics, to study the impact of ECs;
Adverse outcome pathways or mechanisms of toxicity;
Biomonitoring using biomarkers such as DNA/protein adducts, metabolites and enzymes;
Impact of multiple marine environmental stressors (e.g., microplastics) associated with other chemicals or marine environmental factors on marine organisms;
Water quality criteria for the protection of marine organisms and human health;
Novel methods or the development of ecological risk assessment.

Prof. Dr. Ying Wang
Prof. Dr. Guanghui Ding
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Toxics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

ecotoxicology
marine environment
biomonitoring
omics
contaminants of emerging concern
predicted-no-effect concentration
ecological risk assessment

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

Open AccessArticle

Long-Term Toxicity of 50-nm and 1-μm Surface-Charged Polystyrene Microbeads in the Brine Shrimp Artemia parthenogenetica and Role of Food Availability

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Toxics 2023, 11(4), 356; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics11040356 - 09 Apr 2023

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Abstract

Micro and nanoplastics (MNPs) as emerging contaminants have become a global environmental issue due to their small size and high bioavailability. However, very little information is available regarding their impact on zooplankton, especially when food availability is a limiting factor. Therefore, the present study aims at evaluating the long-term effects of two different sizes (50 nm and 1 μm) of amnio-modified polystyrene (PS-NH₂) particles on brine shrimp, Artemia parthenogenetica, by providing different levels of food (microalgae) supply. Larvae were exposed to three environmentally relevant concentrations (5.5, 55, and 550 μg/L) of MNPs over a 14-days of exposure with two food levels, high (3 × 10⁵~1 × 10⁷ cells/mL), and low (1 × 10⁵ cells/mL) food conditions. When exposed to high food levels, the survival, growth, and development of A. parthenogenetica were not negatively affected at the studied exposure concentrations. By comparison, when exposed to a low food level, a U shape trend was observed for the three measured effects (survival rate, body length, and instar). Significant interactions between food level and exposure concentration were found for all three measured effects (three-way ANOVA, p < 0.05). The activities of additives extracted from 50 nm PS-NH₂ suspensions were below toxic levels, while those from 1-μm PS-NH₂ showed an impact on artemia growth and development. Our results demonstrate the long-term risks posed by MNPs when zooplankton have low levels of food intake. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Toxicity and Ecological Risks of Emerging Contaminants in the Marine Environment)

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Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Acute and Chronic Effects of Crude Oil Water-Accommodated Fractions on the Early Life Stages of Marine Medaka (Oryzias melastigma, McClelland, 1839)

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Toxics 2023, 11(3), 236; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics11030236 - 28 Feb 2023

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Abstract

Oil spill is a major marine environmental pollution issue. Research regarding the long-term effects of oil spills on the early life stage of marine fish is still limited. In this study, the potential adverse impact of crude oil from one oil spill accident which occurred in the Bohai Sea on the early life stages of marine medaka (Oryzias melastigma, McClelland, 1839) was evaluated. A 96-h acute test (larvae) and a 21-d chronic test (embryo–larvae) of water-accommodated fractions (WAFs) from crude oil were conducted, respectively. The results of the acute test showed that only the highest concentration of WAFs (100.00%) significantly affected the mortality of larvae (p < 0.01) and that the 96 h-LC₅₀ was 68.92% (4.11 mg·L^-1 expressed as total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs)). Larval heart demonstrated histopathological alterations in all WAF-exposed groups. The chronic test results showed that, except for larval mortality, the total hatching success (%)/hatching time of embryos in WAF treatments was not significantly different from those of the control group (p > 0.05), and no malformation was found in surviving larvae after 21 d of exposure. Nevertheless, the exposed embryos and larvae in the highest concentration of WAFs (60.00%) demonstrated significantly reduced heart rate (p < 0.05) and increased mortality (p < 0.01), respectively. Overall, our results indicated that both acute and chronic WAF exposures had adverse impacts on the survival of marine medaka. In the early life stages, the heart of the marine medaka was the most sensitive organ which showed both structural alteration and cardiac dysfunction. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Toxicity and Ecological Risks of Emerging Contaminants in the Marine Environment)

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Open AccessArticle

Amantadine Toxicity in Apostichopus japonicus Revealed by Proteomics

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Toxics 2023, 11(3), 226; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics11030226 - 27 Feb 2023

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Abstract

Amantadine exposure can alter biological processes in sea cucumbers, which are an economically important seafood in China. In this study, amantadine toxicity in Apostichopus japonicus was analyzed by oxidative stress and histopathological methods. Quantitative tandem mass tag labeling was used to examine changes in protein contents and metabolic pathways in A. japonicus intestinal tissues after exposure to 100 µg/L amantadine for 96 h. Catalase activity significantly increased from days 1 to 3 of exposure, but it decreased on day 4. Superoxide dismutase and glutathione activities were inhibited throughout the exposure period. Malondialdehyde contents increased on days 1 and 4 but decreased on days 2 and 3. Proteomics analysis revealed 111 differentially expressed proteins in the intestines of A. japonicus after amantadine exposure compared with the control group. An analysis of the involved metabolic pathways showed that the glycolytic and glycogenic pathways may have increased energy production and conversion in A. japonicus after amantadine exposure. The NF-κB, TNF, and IL-17 pathways were likely induced by amantadine exposure, thereby activating NF-κB and triggering intestinal inflammation and apoptosis. Amino acid metabolism analysis showed that the leucine and isoleucine degradation pathways and the phenylalanine metabolic pathway inhibited protein synthesis and growth in A. japonicus. This study investigated the regulatory response mechanisms in A. japonicus intestinal tissues after exposure to amantadine, providing a theoretical basis for further research on amantadine toxicity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Toxicity and Ecological Risks of Emerging Contaminants in the Marine Environment)

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